OTTAWA STUDENTS CHALLENGE MUNICIPAL CANDIDATES TO TAKE THE PLEDGE ON
UNIVERSAL BUS PASS

Renewal of the program a prerequisite for support on voting day, say students

OTTAWA, Oct 6 /CNW/ - With the candidates vying for students' support in the upcoming municipal election, Ottawa's university students are asking candidates to commit to the creation of a permanent Universal TransitPass (U-PASS) program. The program, which is currently a one-year pilot project before Council, has already demonstrated remarkable success, with almost 45,000 U-Passes in circulation among Ottawa's full-time university students as of October 1.

The majority of students are already benefitting from OC Transpo's services, and at a time that Ontario students are paying the highest tuition fees in the country, Ottawa students need the financial relief that the U-Pass provides and are determined to see that the program continues. "Pledging to support the U-Pass means pledging to ensure that students have access to affordable public transit", said Dina Skvirsky, Vice-President Student Issues at the Carleton University Students' Association "The average student saves $200 per year in transit fees over purchasing a semester pass."

"We're calling on  mayoral and council candidates to pledge to vote in favour of renewing the U-Pass project in the 2011 budget deliberations," said Patrick Imbeau, External Commissioner for the Graduate Students' Association of the University of Ottawa. "Signing a pledge means that candidates can count on student support come October 25. The U-Pass is a major issue on our campuses and when our students visit the polls, they will certainly have the future of the U-Pass in mind."

Ottawa's university students' unions have been contacting candidates with an end to securing pledges for the project, and invite candidates to a public signing of the pledge on October 13 at the University of Ottawa.

The Student Federation of the University of Ottawa, the Carleton University Students' Association, l'Association étudiante de la Cité collégiale, the Carleton University Graduate Students' Association and the University of Ottawa Graduate Students Association are members of the Canadian Federation of Students, and together represent over 65,000 Ottawa-area university and college students.

For further information:

Dina Skvirsky, Vice-President Student Issues
Carleton University Students' Association
t. 613-520-2600 x. 1607
c. 613-796-5784
e. [email protected]

Mike Fancie, Advocacy and Communications Coordinator
University of Ottawa Graduate Students' Association
t. 613-562-5800 x. 3992
c. 613-866-3606
e. [email protected]